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I know this will sound anal to most of you, but some will understand (hopefully).

I scored a 760 on the SAT II Writing in June, which ordinarily I would be very happy with (92nd percentile). The problem is, I got an 8 on my essay. I've learned from the boards that colleges see the breakdown and I know I can write better than that (let's just say writing's my "hook" in applying). Should I take it again just for the rise in the essay score? Does anyone have tips on what ETS is looking for in terms of a perfect essay? Thanks

By Crazylicious (Crazylicious) on Monday, July 05, 2004 - 05:26 pm: Edit

Hmm you did score a LOT better than me. (I previously got a 660, I am re-taking for a much higher score). My essay score was a 10 though (the MC must have murdered me). A 760 is a really good score though. For me, the prompt was something like "Evaluate this: 'What seems is not always what is.' ". I wrote an intro, one par talking about a literary work (Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier) and then one par on personal experience. I used up all the space given. I'm sure that if you put much more thought, you could get higher. What did your essay consist of..? examples? etc

By Appliedmath (Appliedmath) on Monday, July 05, 2004 - 05:37 pm: Edit

thats anal as heck, dont retake it or else you might score lower the second time despite a higher essay score. Try the hook, This is my hook.

By Antique (Antique) on Monday, July 05, 2004 - 07:06 pm: Edit

I took writing and had the same prompt as Crazylicious. I got a 760 as well, w/ barely any studying. My essay score was a 9 though.

By Curiouskatie (Curiouskatie) on Tuesday, July 06, 2004 - 02:12 pm: Edit

applied, I don't think I am likely to score any lower since I consistently get 80 out of 80 on the mc. I just worry that colleges will look at the 8 essay score and think, this kid can't write.

By Curiouskatie (Curiouskatie) on Wednesday, July 07, 2004 - 06:27 pm: Edit

bump? does anyone think that's an issue?

By Hahaha (Hahaha) on Wednesday, July 07, 2004 - 07:39 pm: Edit

did u take AP english and get a high score? Are you getting a rec from an english teacher? Any prestigious writing awards? If so, each of these will override your 8, because the SAT2 readers look at each essay for so little time that they cant accurately judge the essay 100 percent of the time. So dont worry about it. That said, if you were counting on your SAT2 score to be your writing hook, then you may wanna retake.